Sour, wild, a ton of oak. SweetWater The Woodlands in pictures

It all started with Pit and the Pendulum, SweetWater’s peach fruited wild ale. What was supposed to scratch an itch for funky brewing, blew the door wide open for The Woodlands.

Coming in January is SweetWater’s Through the Brambles, the first release from the completed Woodlands Project. The inaugural release is nothing short of fantastic. Fresh raspberries were added to a light sour base (one of which will serve as the brewery’s “mother” beer), in oak barrels.

In place now are 500 oak barrels ranging from red wine to rum and bourbon, 15 puncheons (larger wine casks), and six oak foudres. The 37,000 square foot facility signals a new era of sophistication for the brewery.

Get to know this names if you don’t know them already. Mark Medlin, Troy Montrone, and Chris Meadows. That is the funky bunch that is making Lactobacillus, Brettanomyces, oak and fruit, work for tastebuds affections. Once you taste Through the Brambles, you’ll find out they are off to one hell of a great start.